Vegan Protein-Packed Ancho Bean Burgers

July 10, 2012 By Laura

Sad, but true:

We are so lucky to have the knowledge we do about clean eating. I am continually surprised by how many people legitimately have no clue how to make good food choices. Not to mention those who just don’t care.

Remember then craziness most of us ate growing up? Ding Dongs, Pop-Tarts, orange soda… I wouldn’t even think to buy those things now! (Note: there is a restaurant in Atlanta that makes homemade Ding Dongs… those, I would buy. 🙂 ).

In my adult life, I shop the perimeters of the grocery store. When I do buy packaged food, I read labels to ensure the ingredient list is recognizable.

Source: http://www.inshapeindiana.org

No one is perfect. I’d be lying if I told you there weren’t a couple of questionable items in my freezer. The point is to eat as clean as you can most of the time.

One of the items I’ve become more aware of are frozen veggie burgers. I try not to eat many processed foods, but in my constant quest for protein I picked up a box of the burgers for a quick fix. Then I realized I could quite easily make my own and keep them in the freezer for those times of need.

Beans are one of the top sources of vegan protein; however, I cannot eat enough beans to get my 25g required per meal. I CAN mix them with other protein sources to amp it up though!

Note: I am not vegan, but I am striving to continue to eat as plant-based as possible while I train for a figure competition.

These ancho chile burgers combine beans, textured vegetable protein (TVP), and vital wheat gluten to deliver a homemade, protein-rich vegan burger. The chili power and ancho chili pepper in chipotle give it a nice heat (if you’re sensitive to heat simply leave out the ancho chili).

I served one for dinner with sautéed shiitake mushrooms, onions, garlic, and spinach. The remaining patties were wrapped up for later meals.

Between the liquid smoke and the grill marks (thanks to Mr. George Foreman and his grill), these bean burgers have turned my cubicle into a lunchtime picnic. Ok, I exaggerate… but they are tasty!

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Ancho Bean Burgers

Inspired by JL’s Chickpea TVP Burgers.

1/2 C fava beans, cooked
1/2 C cannellini beans, cooked
1/4 cup TVP
1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 C Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 C fresh cilantro
1/4 C onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ancho chili pepper in chipotle, diced
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
S+P, to taste

In a food processor, pulse the cooked beans (leave some larger pieces).

Combine the TVP and vegetable broth and let stand for 10 mins. Stir in the Vital Wheat Gluten.

Add the TVP and all remaining ingredients and pulse until well combined.

Refrigerate 1 hour (or overnight). Form the patties, making them fairly thin so the middle get “cooked” on the grill. Return to the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or over night. At this point you may place in the freezer for future use.

Set out at room temperate about 30 minutes before grilling. Cook on a grill pan (or grill if you have one) for ~6-7 mins on each side, or place in George Foreman grill for 6 mins.

Makes 5 4-oz burgers.

Approximate Nutritionals: 116 calories, 0.5g fat, 144mg sodium, 13.6g carbohydrates, 3.8g fiber, 1.7g sugar, 14.3g protein

***

In 5 days I will be 29 years old. The last year of my 20s. How did this happen?!

Is there anything shameful in your freezer or pantry? Make me feel better… lol!

Have you become more health conscious in your “old age,” or did you grow up eating clean?

Blueberry Protein Tart + WIAW

July 4, 2012 By Laura

Happy 4th of July!

I wasn’t going to post today, but how could I miss my favorite day of the week – Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

Last week I talked a lot about the nutrition plan I’m on to achieve my new fitness goal (competing in a figure competition). I’m still packing in the protein and keeping it (mostly) vegetarian. I’m struggling to find a wider variety of protein sources.

One thing I noticed last week was that my skin is breaking out from the increase in dairy. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese had become protein-staples. I’m aiming to just cut back a bit this week, limiting it to 1-2 servings of dairy per day, to see if that helps.

Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme for July is of “Food, Fun, and Fitness.” Girl reads my mind with these themes!

Check out my protein-filled fuel below; then click here to the WIAW round-up on Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s fitness treats!

Meal 1:

Last week I talked about how I’m now eating 7 meals a day. Meal 1 occurred yesterday at 8am. Knowing I had an appointment with my trainer later, I focused on getting as much energy as possible from my morning eats.

Workout energy can be quite tasty!

This is a Blueberry Protein Tart. I ate it for breakfast, but it would make one helluva dessert too!

The inspiration for this creation was Tessa’s own creation. I am not allowed the peanut butter she added, and I needed to reduce the size because when you eat 7 meals a day they need to be a tad smaller (yet still protein rich – that’s a whole other challenge).

Despite the omission of peanut butter, my crust was fantastically chewy and fudgey. And the “cream filling” was just perfect. If you haven’t invested in peanut flour, you should do so ASAP. I’m not kidding.

Recipe at the bottom of this post.

Meal 2:

This was my pre-workout meal. In effort to limit the dairy, I made a massive tomato and egg white scramble with basil and a drizzle of balsamic. I’m also allowed 1 T of sunflower seeds, which I sprinkled on top of the mix.

Meal 3:

This meal is like lunch. Since it was also my post-workout meal, a protein smoothie was in order. I have to eat immediately after my workout to build muscle, so portability is key. I also packed cereal for some carbs to top my smoothie and a water mixed with Amino Energy to drink during and after the workout for energy and recovery.

This is one of my new favorite smoothies. Carrot Cake. I’ve tried it before, but I think this particular combo is the winner. A couple more trials and I’ll post the recipe.

It did get the thumbs up from both trainers who sampled it.

Meal 4:

This is like an afternoon snack. That means I can have a protein source (25g) and a 3/4 C serving of veggies. Hmmmm… a protein-packed nori roll? Is that possible?

Yes, yes it is. I mixed a scoop of protein powder and ~1 tsp of wasabi with water to form a paste.

I slathered my nori rolls with it and filled them with sprouts, beets, raw asparagus, and raw cauliflower. Not too shabby for a snack on the fly!

Meal 5:

Usually I have some sort of dinner in mind, but today I was drawing a blank on where my dinner protein would come from. My protein ended up being partially in the form of beans, and some of the secret was in the sauce.

Note: I know several will comment that I should eat more to beans, quinoa, and lentils for vegetarian/vegan protein sources. The problem with that is that they count as carbs. I am limited to 3/4 C of carbs at meals 1, 3, and 5. 3/4 a cup of beans is about 12g of protein. That leaves 8-13g protein I’d still need for that meal!

For this protein-rich salad, I combined 1/2 cup of fava beans and cannellini beans with 3 oz Greek yogurt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and lavar flakes. Then I tossed it all with beets, sprouts, green pepper, and onion. Topped with 1/4 C edamame, basil, more nooch, and red pepper flakes.

Sort of like a bean-based chicken salad. Sort of.

Meal 6:

By this time of day I am sick of eating. That’s something I never thought I’d say! Meal 6 was a quick scramble of soy-based ground “beef,” egg whites, and zucchini topped with nooch and radish.

Meal 7:

Last meal. This – I am told – is my “dessert.” I’ve pulled some good ones, but tonight I was just proud of myself for getting in the 7th meal. Typically I’m too stuffed by meal 6 to get anything else in mah belly.

1/2 banana covered in Greek yogurt and frozen with bowl of peanut butter protein pudding (protein powder, peanut flour, almond milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon).

Blueberry Protein Tart

For the Crust:

1/4 C cereal
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T vanilla protein powder
1 tsp chia seeds
2 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or liquid of choice)
5-6 drops vanilla liquid stevia (or your favorite sweetener)

For the Cream:

3 oz (1/2 container) Greek yogurt
1 T peanut flour
5-6 drops vanilla liquid stevia

For the Crust:

Place your favorite cereal in a blender and mix until it’s dust. Pour into a small bowl and stir in cinnamon, protein powder, and chia seeds. Stir in stevia and milk. (Note: You may have to adjust liquid amounts depending on the powder and cereal you use.) It should form a sticky ball.

Spread the crust mixture evenly across a small plate (~1/4 in thick). Refrigerate over night, or at least 20 mins.

For the Cream:

In a small bowl combine yogurt, peanut flour (you could sub more protein powder here), and stevia.

Spread evenly atop your crust.
Top with the fruit of your choice and enjoy!

Makes 1 serving.

Approximate nutritionals (without toppings; can vary widely depending on cereal, powder, and yogurt used): 219 calories, 6.9g fat, 22.4g carbohydrates, 6.8g fiber, 4.3g sugar, 23.6g protein

***

In case you’re curious, I managed 154.5 g of protein with these eats. BAM.

How do you refuel post-workout?

What is your favorite 4th of July dish?

A Protein-Filled Wednesday + a Snack Giveaway!

June 27, 2012 By Laura

Snacking is the new name of the game for me.

Yesterday I revealed my new fitness goal to you all – to compete in a figure competition. This means HUGE change in my plant-based diet. Now I have to focus more on protein than plants, and I’m eating constantly… but my goal is to to keep to a vegetarian protein diet.

The Basic Plan:

7 “meals” per day (I eat every 2 hours)
20-25g of protein at each meal
120 oz of water daily
1 serving of fruit for the first 2 meals, and at meal 7 (“dessert”)
1 serving of veggies for meals 3-6
1/2 C carbs at meal 1, 3, 5, and 7 (beans, lentils, and sweet potatoes count as carbs)
Limited fats – flax at meal 1, nuts at meal 2, olive oil at meals 3 and 5

The good parts: no calorie counting or macro tracking; I get a cheat day once a week; I already love protein shakes

The hard parts: only eating 1 serving of veggies at a time is hard; eating that much protein on a veg diet is REALLY hard; eating all the time sounds fun at first, but I am really never hungry (except for when I wake up); eating every two hours take a ton of planning; all of that water has me running to the bathroom every 30 mins.

Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme of “Sensible Snacking” this month is just perfect for my new plan. I am snacking all day!

Check out a day in the food life of a wanna-be figure competitor; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see everyone else’s day of eats!